The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more specifically to electrical connectors that are used to carry electrical components.
Electronic circuit designers usually face a shortage of circuit board space. Many electrical circuits have a connector housing that connects the circuit board to other electrical components located off the circuit board. Also, many circuit boards are contained in a circuit board housing that is used to protect the circuit board therein.
Oftentimes large components are used as part of the circuitry. For example, electrolytic capacitors are often incorporated for noise reduction. The electrolytic capacitors are relatively large and therefore occupy a considerable amount of circuit board area. In many applications such as in automotive vehicles, reducing the size of modules containing circuit boards is particularly important. This is due to the ever increasing content and package space reduction.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an assembly that prevents large size components from taking a substantial amount of board space.
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a connector or module housing that incorporates a means for holding an electronic component so that overall circuit board size may be reduced.
In one aspect of the invention, a circuit assembly for holding an electronic component relative to a circuit board comprises a housing coupled to the circuit board. A separable cradle is coupled to the housing and is sized to receive the electronic component. The cradle may have a support post for spacing the cradle a predetermined distance from the circuit board and to prevent a large component from vibrating. In a further aspect of the invention, the housing may be a module housing or a connector. The cradle may be separable from the housing.
One advantage of the invention is that if the cradle is made to be separable, a common connector may be formed for those applications requiring the positioning of a component above a circuit board and those not. Thus, due to economies of scale, the connector portion will be less expensive to produce than if two connectors, one distinct connector with a cradle and one distinct connector without, are produced. Further, the cradle may be designed with locking features so that the electrical component supported by the cradle is securely positioned to provide a robust assembly.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent when viewed in light of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings and appended claims.